Following a successful trial run in London, the European Wine Academy (EWA) has expanded internationally and chosen Malta as the base for its Mediterranean Campus offering a range of high-standard short, long and professional wine courses to students in the region that encompasses Sicily, Sardinia, Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, Malta, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. Professional wine courses will be delivered mainly through interactive, professional e-learning classes (also called distance education), which is a first for the region and Malta, as well.
The EWA is steered by a group of passionate wine experts, wine educators, consultants and wine journalists hailing from Europe and the New World who are all passionately committed to the development of a series of high standard e-learning wine courses designed to reach any student anywhere as long as he or she has the interest, a computer and an internet connection.
The Mediterranean Campus in Malta is the first of a number of satellite campuses to be set up by the EWA around the world with those of Germany, Australia, Chile and California under negotiation.
negotiation.
At the Mediterranean Campus e-learning wine courses are delivered in the English language by international wine experts and oenologists and coordinated by Belgian-born Georges Meekers who himself is a well respected wine professional residing in Malta.
The Academy's strategic planning is quite unique, as Derek Koch, the EWA's Principal, says: "For far too long now serious wine students have only had limited possibilities to obtain an internationally recognised wine education from, for example, institutions like WSET, who mainly offer wine courses on a face-to face basis. Our courses, too, are of a high academic and professional standard overseen by a Board of Trustees, headed by our president and Master of Wine, Frank Smulders.
But via e-learning we are in a unique position to transfer the inside knowledge of international wine experts acting as tutors over to students who cannot attend courses in a regular class room because of their work schedules, family needs, geographical isolation, or other reasons. Although we ensure that our students gain practical experience as well, we have opted for e-learning to reach any student and we strive to become the definitive reference in professional e-learning wine education".
Apart from seminaries and short courses, the European Wine Academy, through the Mediterranean Campus, offers e-learning longer courses and professional Certificate and Associate degree courses in subjects such as Sommeliership and Hospitality, Wine Tourism, Wine Sales & Retail, Wine Entrepreneurship, Wine Marketing, Wine Business Management and Oenology.
Malta is the obvious choice of the Academy as the home of the Mediterranean Campus given its strategic and central position in the heart of the Mediterranean basin. Not only are the Maltese Islands easy and safe to travel to, the fact that Malta probably more than any other Mediterranean country is currently experiencing a renaissance in winegrowing makes it the ideal field for practicums in addition to virtual wine classes.
Because of the expected growth of leisure, agro-tourism and business travel to the Mediterranean region, as well as the continued expansion of the exciting winegrowing revival in the Mediterranean wine-producing countries as witnessed in Malta, there will be an increasing need for proficiently trained wine professionals.
Mr. Georges Meekers said: "Having its base in Malta, the Mediterranean Campus will definitively 'link' the Maltese Islands even more with the rest of the wine world. If anything, foreign students and international professional wine tutors alike will have no choice but to prepare a fresh folder labelled "Malta", which will fit snugly between the other wine regions "Madeira" and "La Mancha"…"